The Straits Times, January 28, 2007
BANGKOK - Cracks on the runway, corruption claims and now safety issues - Bangkok's new airport has suffered blow after blow since its swanky opening, but analysts say the public hammering could be a ploy to discredit the ousted premier.
Suvarnabhumi Airport appears an easy target for Mr Thaksin Shinawatra's critics, especially as he made the scheme a personal crusade, once camping at the building site in a show of support.
Taking on a project that had been in the pipeline for 40 years, he raced to open the airport before many experts believed it was ready.
When the new hub finally opened to much fanfare on Sept 28 last year, the twice-elected premier had been toppled by the military in a bloodless coup just over a week earlier.
Since then, there has been a catalogue of complaints, culminating last week with news the transport ministry was considering whether to move flights back to creaking old Don Muang airport because of around 100 cracks on runways and taxiways.
'Since Thaksin had pushed the airport very strongly...it would be very nice for the military regime to say 'see, that was all just public relations',' said Professor Michael Nelson at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.
'It would be a nice thing to show the world that in fact, behind the scenes, it was all cronyism and corruption,' he said.
Military leaders have justified their takeover by saying democracy was being undermined by widespread corruption during Mr Thaksin's five years in office, but they have yet to uncover any hard evidence of graft.
'They want to discredit him as much as they can, even if they can't nail him for anything concrete,' said Prof Nelson.
The airport's woes have soiled what many had hoped would become a beaming symbol of modern Thailand.
'The airport is a highly political project, and the rush to open it has damaged what we hoped to become the image of the country,' said Mr Kiat Sitthee-amorn of the opposition Democrat Party.
BANGKOK - Cracks on the runway, corruption claims and now safety issues - Bangkok's new airport has suffered blow after blow since its swanky opening, but analysts say the public hammering could be a ploy to discredit the ousted premier.Suvarnabhumi Airport appears an easy target for Mr Thaksin Shinawatra's critics, especially as he made the scheme a personal crusade, once camping at the building site in a show of support.
Taking on a project that had been in the pipeline for 40 years, he raced to open the airport before many experts believed it was ready.
When the new hub finally opened to much fanfare on Sept 28 last year, the twice-elected premier had been toppled by the military in a bloodless coup just over a week earlier.
Since then, there has been a catalogue of complaints, culminating last week with news the transport ministry was considering whether to move flights back to creaking old Don Muang airport because of around 100 cracks on runways and taxiways.
'Since Thaksin had pushed the airport very strongly...it would be very nice for the military regime to say 'see, that was all just public relations',' said Professor Michael Nelson at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.
'It would be a nice thing to show the world that in fact, behind the scenes, it was all cronyism and corruption,' he said.
Military leaders have justified their takeover by saying democracy was being undermined by widespread corruption during Mr Thaksin's five years in office, but they have yet to uncover any hard evidence of graft.
'They want to discredit him as much as they can, even if they can't nail him for anything concrete,' said Prof Nelson.
The airport's woes have soiled what many had hoped would become a beaming symbol of modern Thailand.
'The airport is a highly political project, and the rush to open it has damaged what we hoped to become the image of the country,' said Mr Kiat Sitthee-amorn of the opposition Democrat Party.
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